Tag Archives: christmas

The Beatles Seven records of Christmas

From 1963 to 1969, the Beatles recorded and released seven special Christmas singles through their fan club. These were closer to “Monty Pythonesque”-comedy than their normal releases. The first ones are whimsical, cheery and thankful for their success, but later records are more esoteric. They reflect their development as a unit, the 1969 recording is four separate pieces.

Each recording was pressed onto a 7″ flexi disc and mailed free to the British members of the Fan Club.

The results are interesting curiosities for all Beatles fans. A compilation album (with all the 7 singles) was released in 1971 and available from the fan club between 1970 and 1972. It was never released commercially, and most copies are bootlegs.

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When The Thames Froze
Today we give you a new Christmas song (well, it’s about one year old) and what a gem it is!

Former Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows and Editors frontman Tom Smith released their record Funny Looking Angels under the name Smith & Burrows. One of the best songs on the album is, When The Thames Froze .Smith & Burrows gives us a wonderful Christmas Carol with a darker undertone. A song fit for the recent economic resessions.

Q Magazine described the song as ”a Christmas anthem for modern times”.

We have chosen two version, first the official video, and second, an acoustic live version (Smith & Burrows performing ‘When The Thames Froze’ at The Station Sessions as part of the Secret Season supporting Shelter):

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Our fifth offering is from the nice people at Paste Magazine, and it’s a fine compilation they are giving us.

From Paste:

“Fortunately, some of our favorite Paste artists have chosen to freshen the genre with new releases, whether they’re original compositions or unique takes on old holiday favorites. If you’re looking for the perfect playlist for that tired office Christmas party or just hoping to amp up your holiday spirit in a new way, look no further than the Paste Holiday Sampler.” (read more)